“No, you don’t get to do that to me. You don’t get to hand me mixed signals and then act as if I’ve done something terrible. I know you wanted me at the restaurant, too.” She pouted again.
Sighing heavily, he answered, “Yes, I did. But that was then and this is now. Goodbye, Glenda.” This time he pushed her aside gently but firmly and opened the door against her slight weight and the little resistance it gave.
As he stepped into the corridor, Glenda vocalized a guttural scream and slammed the door hard enough to rattle the paintings on the wall.
Without slowing to consider her actions, Evan walked to his own apartment and entered quietly. Leaving the place dark, he made his way to his bedroom and flopped onto his bed.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Chapter 8
(Evan)
The remainder of the weekend was quiet and Evan saw no more of Ben or Glenda. He had expected Glenda to at least try to contact him, but she had not. Late Sunday evening, Evan heard Ben and Glenda arguing through the wall. Though he couldn’t make out words, he could tell they were having a very heated argument about something.
Evan sat with a huff on his sofa and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. He hadn’t been out since his episode with Glenda the day before. He hadn’t shaved, showered, or changed out of his floppy house shorts, either. Something had happened and he wasn’t sure just what it was, but he felt differently about Glenda; he also felt differently about his list of women—he didn’t want their company at all; he just wanted to be left alone.
The argument next door continued until late into the night. Glenda noisily left Ben’s apartment around one in the morning—a first as far as Evan knew; she’d always left promptly at midnight before.
Sleep was elusive that night and the next morning, Evan decided he’d take the day off. Being near Benjamin didn’t seem like the way he wanted to spend his day—not after his encounter with Glenda, anyway.
A little before noon, Evan rolled over and squinted against the bright shaft of light coming through his window. Making his way to the kitchen, he cursed his aching head and his stiff joints. Grabbing a bottle of water, he went to the living room again.
As he flipped through random channels on the television, Evan heard Glenda through the wall again. He turned off the television and listened more closely. To his surprise, Ben began shouting at Glenda.
Not long after, there was a knock at his door.
Sighing heavily, wondering what was going on at Ben’s place and why he even cared, Evan answered the door without checking through the peephole. Ben stood there, the set look on his face belied his anger.
“Hey, Ben. You’re off today, too?” Evan stepped back and motioned for Ben to come inside. Had Glenda told him about what happened? Evan’s pulse kicked up a notch.
“Guess we both are, huh?” Ben walked inside and pushed the door closed. His expression didn’t change.
Evan asked, “You all right, Ben? Did you need something?”
Ben rubbed his face with both hands. “Glenda said she didn’t hear you go to work this morning and I just needed to get away from her for a while. If you haven’t heard us through the walls, we’re arguing pretty bad right now and she’s making me crazy, man.”
Sitting on the sofa again, Evan nodded. “Yeah, I kind of heard and thought that’s what was going on. Anything I c
an help with?” He really didn’t want to help Ben with anything.
Evan just wanted Ben to leave; he didn’t care that they were arguing. All he could think about was that he no longer felt the same about Ben, either. Maybe he was going through a mid-life crisis. If so, it was early—he was only twenty-eight.
Chuckling, Ben replied, “Sorry, man. I know we’ve been loud.” He eyed Evan as if debating on telling him more, but remained silent.
Shifting uncomfortably under Ben’s studious gaze, Evan said, “Well, that’s just how it is with steady lovers, I guess. Not that I would know, but…” Evan laughed.
“I guess so.” Ben sat forward quickly. “Hey, Evan, just so you know, I know you, um, realized what was going on at the restaurant the other evening.” He cleared his throat and looked away.
Heat flushed Evan’s face, his ears even heated up. This was triple awkward. “Hey, that was none of my business.” He picked up the remote and flipped on the television.
“Well, I think Glenda made an extra effort to make it your business, buddy.” Ben’s voice had deepened an octave and his eyes had gone dark. “That’s right. I know about Saturday evening, too.” He held up his hand. “I’m not mad at you, though. She’s the one who broke the agreement. We were always supposed to be together when another person joined us that way.”
The room had grown too warm and sweat popped out on Evan’s forehead. “I don’t know what she told you, man, but I left. We did nothing.”
“I’m here, not to accuse you, but to invite you over for…just to invite you over. We want you to come over so this can be settled.”
“I don’t understand. It is settled. I told you that we did nothing. I left.” Evan was beginning to get irritated.